The Treasury has stepped up its efforts to get a bigger share of betting windfalls with a 20 percent winning tax set to be reintroduced.
The plan was initially proposed and dropped in 2016 due to challenges in implementation.
If the Tax Laws (Amendment) Bill 2018 sails through, the tax charged on all winnings from betting, lotteries and gaming will be introduced.
Betting companies will withhold the 20 percent to be remitted to the Treasury when issuing payouts to winners.
It was tabled in Parliament on Wednesday and could lead to a new showdown between the state and betting companies.
[caption caption="Treasury CS Henry Rotich"]
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"The bill seeks to amend the Income Tax Act to introduce a tax on winnings," the proposed law reads in part.
Betting companies were up in arms after President Uhuru Kenyatta signed the Finance bill in 2017 that raised the tax rate on betting, lotteries and gaming activities to 35 percent.
They argued that the tax would put them out of business and challenged the Government to review it.
Some of the companies made good their threats to withdraw sponsorships for various local sports organizations.
Deputy President William Ruto stated at a recent sports awards gala that they would not be blackmailed, promising that the government would fill the huge gap in sports funding occasioned by the betting companies' withdrawal.
[caption caption="President Uhuru Kenyatta assenting to a bill"]
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